But the operators balked, Business Administrator Jack Kelly said at last night's council caucus, because they would not be able to "meet the current requirements." The proposed ordinance would have required an operator have a minimum of 150 spaces for passenger vehicles.

After a meeting with tow-truck operators, the city decided to revise the ordinance and forward it for the council's approval in two weeks, Kelly said.

The city's car pound ran at a $325,000 deficit in 2010, and eliminating a pound from the city's new DPW compound, under construction on East Linden Avenue, would save $1.4 million in construction costs, according to city officials.